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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. spell — magic
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. last — final
  6. spell — a short time
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. lean — to bend
  9. spell — letters
  10. lean — thin
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. prune — to trim
  14. file — a tool
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. prune — to trim
  17. last — finally
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. last — to go on
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. prune — the fruit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com